So, I’m late to the game and only just learning about the coolness that is python. To be honest, for years the need to keep the indents in the code neat and tidy put me off, but I figured I’d better have a proper look at some point. I spent some time over Christmas going over some tutorials (more below) and more recently I’ve chosen a python-based approach to problems where previously I would have used a different method. So far so good though no doubt my efforts will make grown coders weep…

These are just a few links that I have found really useful- the first is a very good tutorial for new python users who are particularly interested in Geoprocessing, whilst the others deal with more specific problems.

• Geoprocessing with Python using Open Source GIS. This is a full online course, with examples and assignments to try (and solutions, thank goodness). There is a couple of week’s work here to complete the full course.

• Using Psycopg2 with PostgreSQL. This allows you to work with postgresql databases in python (disclosure- other drivers are available). I found this straightforward enough to pick up and use in a real-world situation pretty much immediately.

• Connecting to an OpenOffice spreadsheet with Python. There is plenty of documentation about OpenOffice and Python, but again I found I could get going immediately with this particular link.

If anyone has any other resources for python beginners, particularly around Open Source GIS and PostgreSQL, feel free to add them in the comments.